As tensions continued to boil over in Portland, a new ‘Wall of Vets’ joined the Wall of Moms and Wall of Dads outside the federal courthouse Friday night to defy President Donald Trump’s federal forces occupying the city.
The group of military veterans said they decided to take action after shocking footage emerged showing federal agents tear-gassing and beating Navy veteran Christopher David, 53, last weekend.
Protests entered their 58th night Friday, with about 4,000 gathering at the federal courthouse and Justice Center chanting ‘feds go home’ and ‘black lives matter’.
Chaos later erupted when demonstrators set off fireworks and federal agents hurled tear gas into the crowds.
The ‘Wall of Vets’ group appeared at the demonstration for the first time, alongside the yellow-clad ‘Wall of Moms’ who have gathered every night this week.
The Vets said they decided to take action after shocking footage emerged showing federal agents tear gassing and beating Navy veteran Christopher David, 53, last weekend.
Federal law enforcement agents have been deployed to the city by President Trump to ‘restore order’ after almost two months of nightly protests – despite objections by city and state officials.
Oregon officials are demanding federal agents leave Portland, with two members of the House of Representatives calling for the immediate resignation of Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf while several members of Congress wrote to him demanding to know why agents have also been sent to Seattle.
This came as Trump continued on his “law and order” mantra and warned he was “sending people to New York” after troops have already been deployed to Portland, Chicago, Seattle and Albuquerque. On Thursday he said that 60,000 troops are ‘ready’ to head to cities across the country.
Inspector General Michael Horowitz said his office opened the probe after civil unrest escalated in the past week following claims of camouflaged federal agents using force and snatching people from the streets and putting them into unmarked cars.
The Department of Homeland Security, whose law enforcement agents are facing fierce criticism for their actions in Portland, said its internal watchdog was also conducting a probe.
Demonstrators and local officials see the deployment of the agents in Portland as a ploy by Trump to drum up a “law and order” campaign as he faces an uphill re-election battle.
